Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Building Safety Update

Lee Rowley: I am today informing the House of four proposed changes to the indemnity the government provides for the Joint Inspection Team (JIT). The JIT currently provides support and advice for local authorities (LAs) on the enforcement process under the Housing Act 2004 against private sector, high-rise residential buildings with known cladding issues. Their work includes supporting LAs with inspecting buildings, serving enforcement notices, and prosecuting landlords that do not comply with the notices.We are proposing expanding the scope of the indemnity so that the JIT can:o Support enforcement against medium-rise buildingso Support enforcement against social housing providers;o Support LAs to use new enforcement powers under the Building Safety Act 2022;o Support enforcement against buildings without requiring advance evidence of an external wall defect.I am laying a Departmental Minute providing further details of the change to the contingent liability. More details on the JIT were previously set out in statements and associated Departmental Minutes of 11 December 2018 (Hansard reference: HCWS1169) , 25 June 2019 (Hansard reference: HCWS1654) and 11 March 2021(Hansard reference: HCWS842).

Home Office

Undercover Policing Inquiry: Tranche 1 Interim Report

Suella Braverman: Today the Undercover Policing Inquiry has published its first report. The Inquiry was established in 2015 to inquire into, and report on, undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales since 1968. The Inquiry has split its investigations into three modules; Modules One and Two are further broken down into six separate Tranches. This interim report relates to Tranche One: the work of Special Demonstration Squad officers and managers and those affected by their deployments, in the years between 1968 and 1982. This first report has taken eight years to compile, at a cost of over £64m, a significant amount of which has been spent on legal costs. I know that those affected by the issues under examination will wish this Inquiry to come to its conclusions swiftly, so as to bring accountability and closure. The Government is engaged with the Inquiry Chair and continues to stress the importance of delivering as soon as practicable. The Government will carefully consider the contents of this report. I would like to thank all those who have engaged with the Inquiry to support its work. I would also like to thank Sir John Mitting for his work. I have today laid the Inquiry’s report before the House, and it will also be published on www.gov.uk.

Firearms licensing

Chris Philp: On 8 March, the Government received Prevention of Future Deaths reports from Mr Ian Arrow, the Senior Coroner for Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon, following the inquests into the deaths of the five people who were shot and killed by Jake Davison in Keyham on 12 August 2021. I am extremely grateful to the Senior Coroner for his Prevention of Future Deaths reports, which contain a number of significant recommendations including changes to legislation, changes to the Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police, and changes to firearms licensing more generally. The Government has also received recommendations in the report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following its investigation into Devon and Cornwall Police’s decision-making in relation to Jake Davison’s possession of a shotgun and shotgun certificate with finalised formal recommendations received on 2 May 2023 and in the report by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee following its review of firearms licensing regulations in Scotland which was published on 22 December 2022. This review was established following the fatal shooting of John MacKinnon on the Isle of Skye on 10 August 2022. I am also grateful to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee and the IOPC for their work and recommendations. We have been giving careful consideration to the recommendations. While public safety is, of course, our chief concern, it is also right that our approach should reflect the fact that the vast majority of licensed firearms holders are law abiding and cause no concern. It is this balance that we are seeking to strike in shaping our response. One issue we are moving forward on straight away is police training. The Government has agreed to provide £500,000 in funding to support the development and rollout of a new national training package produced by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs Council. In due course, this training will become mandatory for police firearms licensing teams. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services will also be undertaking a thematic inspection of police forces’ arrangements in respect of firearms licensing in 2024/2025. In addition to this, and as I referred to in my statement to the House on 21 February (Plymouth Shootings), in respect of Devon and Cornwall Police implementing the recommendations made to them by the IOPC in their report, I have also asked the Inspectorate, in conjunction with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, to carry out an early inspection of Devon and Cornwall Police’s firearms licensing arrangements and the improvements they are undertaking. This inspection is already under way and is due to report by the end of July. The Government is also in the process of reviewing firearms licensing fees to move to full cost recovery for the police. We intend to consult on the new fees this Summer and to bring forward the necessary Statutory Instrument to make the fee changes later this year. As I have said, public safety is our priority. At the same time, the measures to manage the risk to public safety must be proportionate and balanced with the fact that the vast majority of licensed firearms holders are law abiding and cause no concern. It is for this reason that the Government has decided not to proceed with recommendations on aligning shotgun and firearms legislation. Shotguns are already subject to significant controls, and they are important in helping farmers control vermin on their land, as well as being used in a variety of rural pursuits. We will keep this under review, but we are currently of the view that additional controls on shotguns are unnecessary and would have a negative impact on their legitimate use. We have also considered carefully the Senior Coroner’s concern that the wording of the legislation – and this refers to sections 27 and 28 of the Firearms Act 1968 – creates a presumption in law in favour of granting a firearms licence to an applicant being granted because it uses the words ‘shall be granted’, which might in some way impact on how the police assess that applicant’s suitability. We do not agree that this is the effect of the legislation. The legislation sets out specific conditions which must be met before the licence is granted, which includes meeting the conditions on suitability to the satisfaction of the police. We have therefore decided not to progress this particular recommendation from the Coroner in respect of sections 27 and 28 of the Firearms Act 1968. The other significant recommendations made to the Government will be the subject of an open, public consultation which is being launched today. I should emphasise at the outset that no decisions have been made on these recommendations, and we are consulting to seek as broad a range of views as possible on what has been proposed. The consultation includes recommendations made by the Senior Coroner, and also the recommendations made in the two other important reports from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Committee. The Government has been giving very full and careful consideration to all three reports and accompanying recommendations. Some of the recommendations are wide-ranging and far-reaching, and the Government wants to hear views on what has been suggested before we seek to bring forward any changes. It is in that context that the Home Office is today publishing a public consultation paper on firearms licensing. The consultation will run for eight weeks. Responses to the consultation will be considered fully and carefully. Following that, should the Government conclude that legislative changes are necessary, we will of course consult formally on any specific legislative proposals before they are introduced, accompanied by the relevant impact assessments. Should we decide to proceed on the other recommended measures, such as changes to the Statutory Guidance, these would be introduced as soon as possible. A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on Gov.uk.

Department for Business and Trade

Publication of the Insolvency Service Annual Plan 2023-24

Kevin Hollinrake: I have set performance targets for the Insolvency Service for the financial year 2023-24. The Insolvency Service is the Government agency that delivers public services to those affected by financial distress, or failure, by providing frameworks to deal with insolvency and the financial misconduct that sometimes accompanies or leads to it.The Insolvency Service aims to deliver economic confidence through a fair corporate and personal insolvency regime which gives investors and lenders confidence to take the commercial risks necessary to support economic growth. It has a crucial role to play in supporting businesses and individuals in financial difficulty or facing redundancy owing to their employer’s insolvency.This year, the Insolvency Service has reinforced its commitment to putting customer satisfaction and real-life impacts at the heart of its services and to supporting the government in delivering against its priority to protect consumers and support businesses to thrive, and make the UK a safe place to do business.I have set measures and targets at a level which will drive the Insolvency Service to deliver its essential services effectively for its stakeholders. These measures include: Measure2023-24 TargetCovid 19 support scheme misconduct/fraud related outcomes as a percentage of all disqualifications and criminal outcomes149% or betterCustomer Satisfaction score 84% or betterAverage number of days taken to process redundancy payment claims 14 days or lessIssue reports to creditors within fifteen days of interviewing (percentage issued) 94% or betterPercentage of Breathing Space statutory notices issued electronically85% or betterVolume of cases where any distribution is made19,000Value of distributions to creditors and debtors£39m The Insolvency Service’s Annual Plan for 2023-24 is published in full on Gov.uk.  1 This target seeks to ensure that addressing covid support fraud remains a key priority for overall enforcement activity, as such we want to see 49% or more of our total enforcement outcomes related to this type of misconduct

Shared Parental Leave Update

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government has today published its response to the consultation on parental leave and pay. This confirms that the Government will make changes to Paternity Leave, delivering its manifesto commitment to make it easier to take. In July 2019, the Government consulted on whether the current arrangements for parental leave and pay met our policy objectives, and if more could be done to better balance the gender division of parental leave and pay between parents. We sought views on the costs and benefits of reforming parental entitlements, and any trade-offs that might need to accompany such reform.The Government response, published today and placed in the house libraries, sets out the changes now planned for Paternity Leave, fulfilling our commitment to make it easier to take. Government will legislate when parliamentary time allows to:Give employed fathers and partners more choice and flexibility around how and when they take their Paternity Leave, allowing them to take two separate blocks of one week of leave if they wish.Give employed fathers and partners the ability to take their leave at any time in the first year, rather than just in the first eight weeks after birth or placement for adoption.Change the notice requirements for Paternity Leave to make these more proportionate to the amount of time the father/parent plans to take off work. We will cut the amount of notice of dates from 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth to 28 days before the leave will be taken - this will give parents more flexibility in planning to take the leave that they need. The territorial extent of the proposals included in the Government’s consultation response extends to Great Britain (employment law is devolved to Northern Ireland). These changes are anticipated to take effect in April 2024, subject to parliamentary scheduling.More details of the Government’s plans can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/good-work-plan-proposals-to-support-families.Shared Parental Leave and Pay EvaluationThe Government is also publishing today the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (SPL) Evaluation which has assessed the extent to which the implementation and take-up of SPL achieved its original objectives: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shared-parental-leave-spl-evaluation. The evaluation showed positive results for both parents and business, boasting greater work life balance for parents, and improving retention and recruitment for employers. The uptake of SPL was also in line with projections made at its rollout and has doubled between 2015-16 and 2021-22.Government is committed to supporting labour market participation, including participation by parents. Parental Leave and Pay policies give employed parents a right to time off work in the first year of their child’s life and supports them in their return to work. This represents an important part of our drive to deliver growth by helping people to access and stay in work.

Treasury

Post Office Compensation Update

Victoria Atkins: This House is aware that the Post Office Horizon scandal has had a devastating impact on the lives of many postmasters since it began over 20 years ago. The Government is deeply concerned about ensuring the fair treatment of this group. The tax treatment of payments made under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) and the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme is of vital importance to ensure fair compensation, and a key part of this is the consistency of such treatment with other historic compensation schemes, and the principles behind such decisions.The Government has already announced its decision that payments made under the GLO scheme and payments made to postmasters with overturned convictions will not be liable for Income Tax and that top-up payments will be made to ensure that the compensation of those on the HSS is not unduly reduced by tax.Today, we go further to correct the historic injustices by announcing that the Government will not collect any inheritance tax (IHT) that may arise in relation to payments made under the HSS and the GLO scheme to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal. This brings the IHT treatment of payments made to victims under the HSS and the GLO scheme in line with those made to postmasters with overturned convictions. This exemption recognises the unusual status of the HSS and the GLO scheme, and the egregious nature of the Post Office Horizon scandal.The Government will legislate to exempt these payments from IHT in due course, but to ensure that recipients have certainty over their tax position prior to legislation being introduced, from today HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not collect any IHT in relation to payments made up to the date the legislation comes into force. Any IHT paid by the personal representatives of estates who did not previously qualify for relief from IHT on HSS and GLO scheme payments will now be entitled to a refund from HMRC.With the Government being the sole shareholder in the Post Office, we will continue to work across Government and with the Post Office to ensure the postmasters get the full compensation they deserve.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force: Chair’s Report and Government Response

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I have today published the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force Report and government response. It is available on gov.uk.Peatlands, when restored and functioning healthily, abate carbon emissions and provide a long-term carbon store, while also delivering wider benefits such as increased biodiversity and improved water quality, drought resilience and flood risk mitigation. Lowland peatlands also provide some of our most valuable agricultural soils, and if managed sustainably, can contribute to food security for years to come. Degraded lowland peatlands account for 3% of England’s overall greenhouse gas emissions and 88% of all emissions from peat in England. Reducing these emissions by rewetting our peatlands will be vital to the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Lowland Agriculture Peat Task Force was chaired by Robert Caudwell, farmer and Chair of the Association of Drainage Authorities. The task force brought together a range of stakeholders, including farmers, water management authorities, conservationists and academics, for the first time to explore how lowland agricultural peat soils can be better managed to protect productive agriculture and contribute to the government’s legally binding net zero targets. I want to thank Mr Caudwell and the task force for their work. The report culminated in a set of recommendations to government and the wider sector that emphasise the importance of water management in the preservation of England’s lowland peat soils. The government response sets out our intention to take forward action on all fourteen recommendations from the report, supporting the rewetting of peat soils where appropriate and changing the way we farm on them to ensure the continuation of profitable agriculture.We have already begun work to address some of the recommendations of the Task Force report. This includes: new funding of over £7.5m for water management for peat; designing options in the new environmental land management schemes for lowland peat; developing a £6.6m lowland peatlands research and development programme; launching a £5.6m Paludiculture Exploration Fund; and developing a new England Peat Map to be launched in 2024.